Welcome to the feedback forum for the first ever International Dance Festival Birmingham. This is your place to have your say and discuss events and performances with others.

Ballet-Dance/Critical Dance and the festival organisers are keen to hear anything and everything you have to say about the festival. All we ask is that you keep comments polite and respectful.

Let us know what it was like to be in the theatre, whether in the audience or on stage; at one of the free events taking place around the City Centre; or as a participant in one of the workshops.

There is a separate forum for each theatre event. Comments and discussion about workshops goes in the forum for that company. Anything that ‘doesn’t fit’ goes in this “Schedule and General Comments” forum.

Booking details, venue addresses, telephone numbers etc can all be found at www.idfb.co.uk.

Luca Silvestrini - ‘On Display’Monday 28 April - Monday 5 May; Various times and locations, Birmingham City CentreItalian choreographer Luca Silvestrini brings a series of specially commissioned dance pieces to top high street stores. From The Mailbox to New Street a series of free performances will literally bring shop windows to life. Which shops and when will be listed on www.idfb.co.uk

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan - ‘Moon Water’Tuesday 29 & Wednesday 30 April, 8pm; Birmingham HippodromeCloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan is renowned for delivering spellbinding, spiritual performances. Here the company performs a piece integrating meditation, tai-chi, martial arts and Chinese opera movement with modern dance and ballet. Set to Bach’s “Suites for Solo Cello” (performed live) mirrors are used during the show to reflect the dancers and the patterns of the set. Water then flows onto the stage until the floor itself becomes a huge mirror reflecting dancing bodies.

Ballet Rakatan - ‘Havana Rakatan’Thursday 1 – Saturday 3 May, 7.30pm & 2.30pm (Sat matinee); Birmingham HippodromeFrom the sexy, spontaneous rumba to the slick footwork of the cha-cha-cha, this is a show that’s guaranteed to get heads nodding and feet tapping. Direct from a sell-out run in London, jazz, mambo, bolero, son (Cuban salsa), cha-cha-cha, rumba and salsa all come alive in dazzling displays full of Cuban passion.

Emio Greco & Rosie Kay - ‘Double Points & Double Points: K’Friday 2 May, 8pm; The Patrick Centre, DanceXchangeA one off chance to see Italian hot ticket Greco dancing in this unique pairing of talents. Emio’s performance features a music ensemble and live electronics. In contrast, taking inspiration from Emio’s work, rising star Rosie Kay has created an explosive, sensual and dynamic new duet to a soundtrack of dub step, electro acoustic and extreme electro.

Hofesh Shechter - ‘Watch This Space’Friday 2 May – Sunday 4 May, various times; Victoria SquareWatch as Victoria Square is completely transformed into an acrobatic playground by choreographer Hofesh Shechter, who has created a brand new piece for the Festival featuring his own dance company, Two Faced Dance Company and building jumpers. Free.

‘International Raw Energy’Sunday 4 May, 7pm; Town HallAn evening showcasing youth dance companies from across the West Midlands. Includes choreography by Mickael Riviere and Nathaniel Conroy, and a huge Bollywood finale choreographed by Mayuri Upadhya.

Tea DanceMonday 5 May, 2.30pm – 5pm; Town Hall
With music by Gary Allcock and the Midlands All Stars Band

Social Ballroom DanceMonday 5 May. 8pm – 11.30pm; Town Hall
With music by Gary Allcock and the Midlands All Stars Band

Olga Pericet / Manuel Linan / Marco Flores - ‘En Sus 13’Tuesday 6 May, 8pm; Town HallThree stars of the Spanish scene present a brand new flamenco show – “En Sus 13” (meaning “to stick to one’s guns”). Get ready for a night of entertainment that will mesmorise and amaze with its passion and rhythms.

ACE Dance & Music - ‘Skin’Tuesday 6 May, 8pm; The Patrick Centre, DanceXchangeFrom the outside we look different, but underneath, aren't we all the same? Using captivating physical expression to discover what makes us function as a human being, six dancers explore the invisible signals we give out. Artistic Director Gail Parmel worked with two established International choreographers of critical acclaim on this production; Akiko Kitamura from the Leni-Basso Dance Company of Japan and Vincent Mantsoe from Soweto South Africa.

Malavika Sarukkai & Nahid Siddiqui - ‘Tillana Tarana’ Wednesday 7 May, 8pm; Town Hall In this collaboration with Birmingham-based sampad South Asian Arts two of the biggest names in Classical South Asian Dance take to the Town Hall stage accompanied by live music. Malavika Sarukkai performs “Kālā Time”, a solo exploring time in the Bharata Natyam language of dance. Nahid Siddiqui, one of the finest Kathak dancers and choreographers in the world, ends the evening with a stunning display of complex footwork, rhythmic precision and storytelling.

Cas Public - ‘Diary’Thursday 8 May, 1pm & 7pm, The Patrick Centre, DanceXchangeThis ambitious project about love involves seven dancers, a pianist, a sound designer, and video. The underlying story is adolescence and the way love teaches us how to experience relations with others. Can we draw a parallel between a devotion to dance and falling in love? With one thousand tea light candles on stage, choreographer Helene Blackburn draws from adolescents' experiences and presents her story in a way that will appeal directly to them.

Aracaladanza - ‘Tac Tac’ Saturday 10 May, 11am, 2pm & 4pm; The Patrick Centre, DanceXchangeA shared experience in a sea of sensations, “Tac Tac” is a dance performance for a very select audience: babies. Diving into their realities and sensory development, the excitement of their daily conquests and their games are brought to life through colour and materials, rhythm, music, and movement.

Aracaladanza - ‘Nada Nada’Sunday 11 & Monday 12 May, 4pm (Sun) & 1.30pm (Mon); The Patrick Centre, DanceXchangeThis show is a feast of seaside imagery that children will love. Set beside, in and under the sea, it’s a bright and playful mix of dance, puppetry and music, with spectacular costumes and some beautiful effects. As different watery worlds combine, you’ll meet a stunning mermaid, jellyfish, sea anemones, buckets, spades, parasols, and fish that go for walks!

Akram Khan Company & National Ballet of China - ‘bahok’Tuesday 13 & Wednesday 14 May, 7.30pm; Birmingham Repertory TheatreJoining forces with the National Ballet of China and long-time collaborator Nitin Sawhney, Akram Khan has created a company of nine dancers from different cultures and dance backgrounds. “bahok” (“carrier” in Bengali) explores ways in which national identity and belonging are ingrained in, and communicated through, the body.

Saburo Teshigawara & Karas Company - title to be confirmedThursday 15 & Friday 16 May, 8pm; Ikon EastsideIn his only UK appearance in 2008, Japanese choreographer Teshigawara brings a spellbinding installation to the new Ikon Eastside gallery space, performed by himself and his dancers on a massive square made of countless broken glass pieces.

Robyn Orlin & City Theater and Dance Group - ‘We must eat our lollipops with the wrappers on’Friday 16 & Saturday 17 May, 7.30pm; Birmingham Repertory TheatreDealing with HIV/Aids, one of the most serious threats to Africa’s future, this very moving performance combines storytelling, dance and song to stunning effect. A cast of South African performers dazzle against a backdrop of live video relay and projections, creating a story of love, life and survival.

Bare Bones - mixed programmeSaturday 17 – Monday 19 May, 8pm (Sat & Mon) & 6pm (Sun); The Patrick Centre, DanceXchangeWith seven years of continuous success touring nationally and internationally, DanceXchange’s very own dance company presents three exclusive previews of its new show. Performed with the audience sitting on all four sides, Bare Bones 6 is an up close and personal show featuring work by internationally celebrated choreographers Rui Horta (Portugal) and Garry Stewart (Australian Dance Theatre).

The Kirov Ballet - ‘Jewels’Tuesday 20 & Wednesday 21 May, 7.30pm; Birmingham HippodromeGeorge Balanchine’s triple bill inspired by three precious stones. Elegant and romantic for Emeralds (set to Fauré), hot and jazzy for Rubies (set to Stravinsky) and glittering and aristocratic for Diamonds. The Kirov production recreates Peter Harvey’s original décor – a shimmering cascade of jewels suspended in mid air – and the dancers wear bejewelled costumes based on the originals by fashionable New York designer Karinska.

The Kirov Ballet - Gala ProgrammeThursday 22 May, 7.30pm; Birmingham HippodromeThe programme includes “Chopiniana (“Les Sylphides”) and “The Kingdom of the Shades” from “La Bayadere”. The feast is completed by a sequence of set pieces from Fokine’s “La Spectre de la Rose”.

Salsa at Sunset Sunday 25 May, time to be confirmed; The MailboxAs the sun sets over another day in the life of Birmingham, and to celebrate the end of the Festival, The Mailbox comes into its own as a hotbed of dance as over 500 people join together to dance a specially choreographed routine.

The International Artist in Residence for the Festival is Garry Stewart from Australian Dance Theatre, who will be premiering new work for DanceXchange’s Bare Bones alongside Rui Horta and Sarah Mitchelson.

I now have the details of Luca Silverstrini’s installation pieces that, as they say, will be bringing Birmingham’s shop windows to life.

You can see them from Monday 28 April to Sunday 4 May inclusive at:

Oasis and The Puma Store, New Street
12.00-12.30pm; and 4.30-5.00pm

Bathstore, Navigation Street
1.15-1.45pm

There’s also one that involves, and I quote, “a glittering fashion show exploding out of a taxi” in Chamberlain Square, from 5.30-6.00pm.

And they’re all free!

Hofesh Shechter Company, 2FaCeD Dance Company & parkour artists

Another free event takes place in Victoria Square on 2nd and 3rd May at 9.00pm when three companies combine in one performance that uses multiple stages and piled up cars set in and around the waterfalls and statues of Victoria Square. It becomes a non-stop acrobatic playground as the 20 performers combine break dance, hip hop, contemporary dance and parkour with amazing lighting and a commissioned score.

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